"Just the new Charmers and managers having a summer get-together." I could feel several pairs of eyes staring at me.
"Nice. You're a Charmer now?"
The muscles in my shoulders tightened. "Nope, just a manager."
He studied me for half a minute then grinned. "Want a ride?"
That made me blink. His grin stretched wider. I glanced over at our audience in time to see two other girls climbing onto Jet Skis with his friends. Apparently temporarily leaving the party was no big deal.
I'd never been on a Jet Ski before, but it looked like fun. "Uh, sure."
I gave Keisha and Vicki a quick wave, then got to my feet and walked over to the edge of the pier beside Greg.
He eyed my clothing. "You got a swimsuit on?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Might want to leave your shirt and shorts here or they'll get wet."
Uh-huh, still not happening. Blinding the guy by showing more of my pale skin before letting him drive us around on a fast-moving machine with no brakes was so not a good idea. "That's okay, I won't mind."
He shrugged, put a foot on the pier, and dragged the end of his Jet Ski around until it was parallel with the wooden platform. "Your chariot, my lady."
A laugh escaped me. "Um, how do I..."
He reached out, took my hand and placed it on his nearest shoulder. His hard muscle flexed beneath my touch. "Hold on and swing a leg over the seat."
Once I was seated behind him, he shot me a grin over his shoulder. "Might want to hang on."
As he started the engine, I had a sudden vision of myself flying off the end and doing a back flop into the water. The Charmers would laugh at me for months about it.
Wrapping my arms around his warm waist, I held on as the Jet Ski lurched forward with a loud gurgle.
I'd braced myself for a wave-jumping, crazy ride, but it was actually nice. Greg took me around the lake, pointing out houses whose owners he could name, plus his own family's house set back several yards from the shoreline. He stopped the Jet Ski about twenty yards from the shore so I could look at it.
"Is that your vacation home?" I didn't know much about Jacksonville High's senior class.
He had a great laugh, warm and genuine. "No, that's our permanent home."
"Must be nice living near the lake all the time."
"It's mostly nice. Though the water moccasins sometimes make our backyard parties a little too exciting."
"I can see why. And is that when you impress everyone with your manly snake-killing skills?"
"Uh, no." He twisted halfway toward me, his smile lopsided. "That's when my dog Jake impresses everyone with his snake-killing skills, while I run off screaming like a girl and grab a shovel."
I laughed. Waves from a passing boat bobbed the Jet Ski, making my thighs bump his hips. Hello. We were sitting a little too close. Self-conscious now, I loosened my hold on his waist, dropping my hands to my knees instead.
"So...are you seeing anyone?"
His question startled me so much I nearly forgot and met his gaze full-on. At the last second, my gaze stopped at his nose out of sheer habit. "No. Why?"
"So I'll know if I can ask you out on a date."
Suddenly I wished I hadn't answered him so quickly. Talk about uncharted waters here. If he asked, what would I-
"Would you like to?"
"To...?" I needed more time to think. Was I even interested in dating him? My friends all considered him gorgeous, and obviously the sophomore Charmers thought so, too. But he wasn't six feet tall with curly blond hair and green eyes I dreamed about on a regular basis. His voice was deep enough, but not that exact low rumble that made me shaky inside. Hanging out with him was nice, but he didn't make me yearn to be around him or know what he was thinking about.
He wasn't Tristan Coleman.
But he also wasn't in the Clann and off-limits. The council never said I couldn't date regular humans. And because he didn't make my body go all wonky when I was around him like Tristan did, being with Greg was easier, more comfortable. Like being a Charmers manager, I could take him or leave him. Which made him a much safer bet in case things didn't work out.
"Would you like to go out with me?" He had a nice smile. It made his brown eyes softer. But did I really want to go on a date with him?
"Maybe." I was answering my question more than his. But once I said it, it seemed a good enough answer for both of us. If I waited for the impossible, I would never have a life. Greg was here. He was interested. He was funny at times and good-looking. Why not go out with him and see what happened? "Okay, sure. Sounds like fun. Now are you going to take me back to the party or what? They're going to think you kidnapped me. Besides, I think I'm starting to burn a little here."
Eyebrows raised, he glanced at my arms. "Ouch, you're right. Next time, wear more sunscreen, okay? Then I can show you more of the lake."
Hmm. Next time, huh?
Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his waist again and hung on. And surprisingly, I didn't stop smiling until he dropped me off at Bethany's pier. Hanging out with Greg was a lot of fun. Maybe going on a date with him would be just as nice.
My smile disappeared when I realized how many pairs of eyes watched us. "Thank you for the ride."
"Anytime. See you around, Savannah Colbert."
I returned his smile, waiting for him to leave before I went to sit by Keisha again.
"Well," Keisha said, as if that was all she needed to say.
It was enough to push me into explaining in a whisper, "I met him a couple months ago. I think he just took me around on the Jet Ski to be nice."
"Uh-huh," she replied, her eyes more than a little curious.
Vicki leaned forward to stare at me past Keisha. "Ha, I saw his face. He wasn't just being polite. Did he ask you out?"
"Um..." I really didn't want to answer that with an audience of gossipy girls eavesdropping. I glanced at my watch then the circle driveway, visible past Vicki, and spotted Nanna pulling up right on time for the end of the party. "Oh, there's my grandmother. I'd better run. See you two next week at boot camp."
I jumped to my feet and said a general goodbye to everyone before making a quick escape.
The following week, Greg didn't call, of course. But I knew he wouldn't for one simple reason...I hadn't given him my home phone number, which was listed under Nanna's name. And none of my friends would give out my number.